S. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8399, 13 April 1907, Page 5

S. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.

ANNUAL, MEETING OF PARISHIONERS.

The annual meeting of parishioner® of S. Matthew's Church was held in the Sunday School-room last evening. The Vicar (Rev, A. M. Johnson) presided, and there was a large attendance.

The annual report of the Churchwardens (Vicar's, Mr W. H. Jackson; parishioners', Mr R. Brown) stated, inter alia: "The Churchwardens congratulate the parishioners upon the improvement in the parish finances. The year began with a debit balance of £B2 3s Id, and, although an amount of extraordinary expenditure had to be provided against, the debit , balance at the end of the year was re- , duced to £3l 10s 6d. The statement of assets shows a large amount outstanding for seat rents, £75, which ,if promptly paid would have enabled the Vestry to meet, liabilities and •still further reduce their indebtedness. Seeing that the site is available, it is strongly recom nended to , you to commence the movement for establishing <i building fund now, t The labours of the Vicar have been ..widely appreciated, ana his untiring devotion and unsparing efforts to carry out the many duties of his ; iSa.ered office have been productive of much spiritual good in the parish- It is JKXW your duty to make the necessary (l arrapgements to obtain the services of „an ..assistant curate. A sum of not Jes&. than £l5O per annum must be provided and guaranteed for two years for an assistant. The thanks I Qf ; the,Vestry are due to the whole of the .workers in every department of in this parish for their iaithful. and unselfish services during jthes"ear-" ,The balance-sheet for the year showed receipts to amount tp £459 19s .Id #nd expenditure £591 9s 7d, leaving a debit balance of £3l 10s 6d. On the, potion of Mr R. Brown, the balance-sheet and Churchwardens' | report .were adopted. Xhe Vicar's report stated, inter alia, that thanks were due to Miss Meredith ier the interest she had taken in the matter of renewing the cbancel ..furniture, and also to Mesdaioes W. James, Maunsell, Hugh Beetham, and Noble-Campbell for assisting .the same object. Through the efforts of Misses Iggulden, (With and Arlidge, the Sunday | School a.t .the tipper Plain had been resuscitated, and js now a strong outpo3t of the Cfeiarch'd work. The Sunday School at Matahiwi is still in charge e>£ Miss .Fannin, assisted Dy Miss and «fche children all round take a great interest in its work. Mr Arthur Reas deserved the thanks and praise of the Church for his constant care of .the main Sunday School, and Mr V.Sutton,fcad also rendered good service. Mr and Mrs Snelgrove, who bring with them experience of Sunday School work gained in Lancashire, have jproved a great acquisition to the stalL Miss Silcock had done good work among the boys, and regret was expressed at her departure. Miss Fannin had done good work with the Girls' BibleClass, and Miss Pearson, who conducted the Boys' C'ass, was also deserving of thanks. Regular services had been maintained at Taueru, Rangitumau, Matahiwi," Bideford, and the other out-stations, thanks to the self-sacrificing efforts of Messrs W. A. Fenall, G. A. Jones, Brown, and Spencer Rutherford. Mr and Mrs Hilnn, choirmaster and organist respectively, deserve ereat praise for the way in which the choir had been conducted, and all the members assisted them to the best of their ability. A valued helper was lost in the person of Mr Nat Hooper. Miss Edwards at present does one half of his duties and the boys the other. Thanks were due to Mrs Ashton for itneking new surplices for the choir boys. For some months Mr> R. Sutton acted as organist with great efficiency and of late, during the S2rvices of Lent and Holy Week,' Misses Pearson and Waddington have tilled the positions of assistant organist. Much good had been done in connection with missionary work bjr the Ladies' Guild, under Mrs Fannin, the St. Barnabas' Association, under Mrs Chennells, the Gleaner's Union, under Miss Brown, and the Maori Mission Union, Mr R. Sutton being secretary of the latter. Mr A. Rees had done good work in the capacity of sidesman. No vicar could, have a Warden more solicitous of his welfare than Mr W. H. Jackson. Thanks were due to Mr Robins and his daughter for much help. A curate was urgently needed in the parish.

The election of officers for the ensuing year resulted as follows: Vicar's Churchwarden, Mr W. H. Jackson; Parishioners' Churchwarden, Mr R. Brown; Vestry, Messrs W. P. James, W. G. Lamb. W. Fendall, S. E. Wright, E. Tomlin, H. R. Wood, Halligan, G. A. Jones, and C. A. Tabateau; Auditors, Messrs E H. Wadddingtdn and Chas. Perry. Mr Fendall stated that the Sunday School had a credit balance of £l7 163.

Mr W. H. Jackson stated that they had the site for a new church, and £l5O in hand, and he suggested that they should organise in building up a strong fund for the erection of a new building. He moved that the Vsstry appoint a Building Fund Committee to further the project. Mr J. W. Blackmail seconded the motion, which was carried. Mr R. Brown moved that the meeting instruct the Vestry to authorise the Vicar to obtain the services of an assistant curate as soon as possible. Mr Fendall seconded the motion, which was carried. The Vicar moved a hearty vote of thanks to all those who had laboured for the welfare of the Church. At the conclusion of the business of the meeting, an enjoyable entertainment was given. The following items were rendered: —Pianoforte solo. Miss Waddington; song, "Sealed Orders," Miss Elkins; duet, "Army and Navy," Messrs F. Hunn and W. Jago; song, "Sunshine and Rain," Miss Green; song, "Happy Song," Miss V. Edwards; song, "Off to Philadelphia," Mr W. Iggulden; song, "Dreaming As She Sleeps." Miss R. Keeble. The ladies provided light refreshments.